The Princess Diarist

The Princess Diarist by the dearly departed Carrie Fisher is a memoir in three parts. First, The Princess Diarist focuses on Fisher’s memories as a teenage girl immediately before and during the height of her Star Wars fame. Most of her earlier memoirs have the perspective of an older woman looking back at her youth, but Fisher recalls herself as a young girl who just wanted to be liked. The second part has excerpts of her diary from that time when she was nineteen years old. The third part examines her recent interactions with fans at conventions, which she calls “lap dances.”
The Princess Diarist is a slight book that probably seeks to capitalize on the Star Wars season, which is always December to January, and make a little money. The Princess Diarist is not one of her more cohesive or insightful memoirs, but it is still enjoyable because The Princess Diarist is by Fisher. The diary excerpts made me want to roll my eyes. If you want to read about a teenage girl crushing on an older married man, Harrison Ford, then The Princess Diarist is for you.
The Princess Diarist is a change in tone for Fisher. While The Princess Diarist is still humorous, she is more reflective and vulnerable than in her previous memoirs. She examines the intersection of her identity and Princess Leia. Sadly while The Princess Diarist may not be one of Fisher’s best memoirs, it is her last, which makes it a somewhat disappointing must read for fans of Fisher and the Star Wars franchise. I imagine that The Princess Diarist would make a better audio book read by Fisher than a book read by a reader.